This Cheesy Beefaroni Recipe can be made all on the stovetop much faster than the oven recipes. It’s ready in 30 minutes as your main course. Keep reading to see how filling and nutritious this ground beef one-dish pasta meal is. Also, see it listed in our Ground Beef, Pasta, Main Courses, Cheese, and Italian Cuisine categories.
Cheesy Beefaroni Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are the cheesy beefaroni recipe ingredients for popular homemade dish.
- Elbow macaroni (or Penne pasta noodles)
- Ground beef (or other preferred ground meat)
- Diced onion (or onion powder)
- Minced garlic (or garlic powder)
- Tomato sauce (or canned crushed tomatoes or fresh diced tomatoes)
- Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- Yellow mustard
- Beef bouillon granules (or beef bouillon cubes or beef broth)
- Italian seasonings (or Italian seasonings blend or Oregano)
- Water & milk
Beefaroni Pasta: Beefaroni Noodles
The two most popular beefaroni pasta noodles are Elbow Macaroni and Penne noodles.
How To Make Beefaroni on Stovetop in 6 Steps
This entire beefaroni homemade recipe is described for everything being done on the stovetop. These steps are summarized here.
- Add the elbow macaroni to a pot of boiling water.
- Then, brown the ground beef and diced onions in a deep pan or pot on the stovetop.
- After that, add in the flour to coat the mixture.
- Then, add the bouillon granules and water. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
- Then, add in all remaining ingredients with the cheese(s) last.
- When pasta is cooked, drain it, and fold it into the pot’s mixture.
- Finally, it’s ready to serve!
Step 1. Start Cooking the Elbow Macaroni.
Step 2. While pasta is cooking, brown the ground beef and diced onions in large deep pan or pot.
Step 3. Then, add some flour to coat the browned ground beef and onions.
Step 4. After that, add beef granules with water (or just beef broth). Then, bring to a boil and stir until starting to thicken.
Step 5. Then, reduce heat to medium & simply add in remaining ingredients, except pasta. Be sure to add in the cheese last. Then, stir to combine it all well.
Step 6. Finally, fold in the drained pasta. Then, mix it together well. That’s it!
Serve it in individual bowls with optional parsley on top. Tastes great with garlic bread. Or, keep reading to see other suggested best sides for beefaroni.
Option of How To Cook Beefaroni Casserole in Oven
You can initially prepare everything in the pot, following the stovetop recipe. The difference, however, is that you don’t have to bring it to a boil to thicken. Then, just continue with the rest of the stovetop recipe and pour it all into a greased casserole dish. After that, put some more shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella) on top. Then, bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 30 minutes.
Ways To Serve Cheesy Beefaroni
You can serve cheesy beefaroni freshly hot or as leftovers, hot or cold. Also, leftovers can be reheated in a microwave if stirred halfway. Finally, keep reading to see what sides go with beefaroni.
Beefaroni Goes With These Sides
Beefaroni goes with these popular side dishes.
- Breads like simple bread and butter, Garlic bread, Crostini Garlic Bread, Italian bread (or French Bread) with Olive Oil Dip, or Oven baked Croutons
- Salads like Romaine Lettuce Salad, Simple Salad with Blue Cheese, Cantaloupe Salad, Tomato Cucumber Onion Salad, Sliced Tomatoes with Cheese
- Easy fruit sides like apple slices, pineapple tidbits, grapes, cantaloupe chunks, apple sauce, or watermelon chunks.
Storing Beefaroni
You can store beefaroni for about 3-5 days in the fridge or 6-8 weeks frozen, all if properly sealed. The best way to reheat frozen beefaroni, is to set it in the fridge overnight to gradually and safely thaw out most of the way. Then, reheat slowly in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 350°F covered or reheat using the microwave.
Cheesy Beefaroni Recipe Nutrition Facts
This beefaroni recipes is about 371 calories, 23 grams carbs, and 3 grams sugar per serving. There is no added sugar as an individual ingredient. Also, it’s rich in melded flavors.
What Is The History of Beefaroni?
Beefaroni, according to Wiktionary, is a U.S. baked dish of ground beef, macaroni, cheese, and tomato sauce. Also, it says it etymology term comes from the words “Beef” + “Macaroni”.
Chef Boyardee Beefaroni at the grocery store in individual 7.5 ounce containers
Beefaroni is NOT an Italian dish, although several have tried to compare it with different Italian and American-Italian dishes. It’s actually a generic term but the Beefaroni name was finally labeled specifically on the Chef Boyardee product line of canned foods.
Who is Chef Boyardee?
The original Chef Boyardee person, Ettore Boiardi, was the original mainstream creator and processor of grocery store products resembling Italian meal kits for the home. It was an idea he came up with during his successful restaurant days when customers wanted to buy extra and take home his spaghetti sauce. As demand grew, he learned how to process it and evolved this into mass production in Ohio. For branding, he made his name phonetically spelled so people would pronounce his true last name correctly.
As his business grew, he moved to Pennsylvania to expand his industrial operation. At his peak, he also mass produced food rations for the U.S. military until the end of WWII. It was then that he sold his business and continued to be the face and name of the product line.
Conclusion of Cheesy Beefaroni Recipe
Now you’ve seen how you can have this homemade easy cheesy beefaroni recipe ready to serve in just 30 minutes and all on the stovetop. That’s because you’ve learned you can make the main mixture while the pasta’s cooking. Also, you saw that all the ingredients are common with loads of options for alternate substitutions. Finally, you’ve seen what are some good sides like salads or fruits to go with this main quick dish. So, surprise everyone for the next dinner; it tastes gourmet. Finally, I guarantee it’s a ton better than the canned beefaroni idea.
Cheesy Beefaroni Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups elbow macaroni or Penne pasta noodles
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
- 2 cups cold water for sauce
- 15 ozs tomato sauce or diced fresh tomatoes
- 1½ Tbsp minced garlic or ½ amount garlic powder
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- ¼ cup cold milk 2% minimum
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasonings or Italian seasonings blend
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Add uncooked pasta to boiling water, following pasta package directions. Reduce heat to medium. Elbow macaroni typically cooks uncovered 8-10 minutes. Continue with next recipe steps knowing to drain pasta when it's done cooking.2 cups elbow macaroni
- Dice onion and brown it with crumbled ground beef in large, deep skillet or pot.1 medium onion, 1½ lbs ground beef
- Add flour to cooked ground beef and onions to coat.3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- Add bouillon granules and COLD water to beef mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook at medium-high heat, frequently stirring, until sauce STARTS to thicken.2 tsp beef bouillon granules, 2 cups cold water
- Lower heat to medium. Add remaining ingredients (but no pasta), ensuring cheese is added last.15 ozs tomato sauce, 1½ Tbsp minced garlic, 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tsp yellow mustard, ¼ cup cold milk, 1 Tbsp Italian seasonings, 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Fold in the drained, cooked pasta. Then, serve with optional parsley flakes on top.
I appreciate you sharing this Beefaroni recipe and blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.
My family didn’t know beefaroni could taste so good. And this was half the time of those oven recipes. Thanks for the one pot idea!